Tuesday, October 8, 2013

House Day 40 - Electricity and Gas



Kevin will built our cabinets from scratch. Here Kevin - Lulu - and Gary are planning the 10 feet high kitchen cabinets. They are standing where the kitchen island will be. 


Monday - In Tallahassee - they city owns the power company and gas company. Every month you get a bill from the city that includes - electricity - gas - garbage - water - sewage - fire protection  - and storm water runoff. When planning a new home - the city offers incentives to encourage you to use energy efficient appliances and abundant insulation. If you install a tankless water water you get a rebate of $675. If you install insulation - the city will pick up to 80% of the tab. 

In our new home we will have a tankless gas water heater - a gas fireplace - a gas range - a gas outdoor grill - and a gas fire pit. We will have 46 recessed ceiling lights featuring LED bulbs that use 80% less electricity than incandescent bulb. The entire home is going to be encapsulated with open cell foam insulation - the kind they spray install and it bubbles up and seals every crack. The windows will have energy efficient glass. If you add up all the 20% - 50% - 80% savings - it seems that the city will owe us money every month. 

When we prepared the building site - we removed many tall pine trees. This was done first to protect the house from falling pine tree - a very common thing in Tallahassee - but also it will take advantage of the Florida sunshine for our garden - our fruit trees - and for solar heating of the pool. 


The guy from Bubba Plumbing is also installing the gas system. Here they are installing the black steel gas lines to the fireplace. The large silver pipe behind him is the double wall chimney that will ventilated the gas fireplace. 

With the flick of a switch the gas logs will ignite and really heat the home. The fireplace will open on two sides to the living room and dining room. This is Lulu's creation. Since the fire is surrounded by glass - no heated room air will be drawn up the chimney. The heated glass will radiate throughout the home. Fresh air will be drawn into the fireplace through a separate duct. Also with the fire covered by glass - there is no chance of flame or fumes escaping into the room. 


The gas fireplace will be turned on by a switch. Flame height will be controlled by a rheostat. There will be no standing pilot light. 


46 recessed cans were installed in the ceilings yesterday. Each can will be filled with an LED 7 watt light bulb. The LED bulbs are not the swirly kind of bulb - they look normal and can be dimmed. They will be installed in standard sockets - easy to screw in and out. Supposed these LED bulbs last 20 years - and they are cool to the touch.



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